5* on steam, writing and overall sob factor!!  “Loving you, Kellan, is so easy, it’s effortless.”

I was engrossed. I was up until almost 3 finishing it. There were a few times when I had to put it down because it was so deep. I get some people dont like the deception and cheating, but seriously it is a story that is rich! When we were young in college and dating we all cheated in one way or another. I have cheated and been in and out of love a lot! Sometimes in my mind, but ultimately Keira could not bring herself to hurt Denny. She had so much love for him and she just couldnt tell him. There is nothing wrong with that especially because it makes the story real. When it starts there is a little backstory reminiscent of Thoughtless. OK so obviously Keira moved on from Denny with Kellan. I was moved how he evolved from his childhood and the sad upbringing. Keira was naive and always second guessing herself, thinking too much about what others thought, and needed a push to be expressive. The premise I call “he could never be YOU” is what she had so much trouble dealing with. The entire saga started for me when it was Denny who LEFT. He didnt discuss anything with her just had to go for work to Tuscon. That was resolved finally! When his internship was turned into a full time job with a long term set up, he fled. It was his loss and his mistake. Now Keira is starting to come into her own realizing she take some more writing classes and poetry. Keira has really got the best and strongest relationship with her sister Anna back. They get each other and Keira accepts that she is who she is and Anna is loud, sexy, and bold. Those qualities she doesnt get. To Keira simply because she is the way she is and Anna is a Hooters girl. We get the resolve of Denny and his new love Abby. We also get the treat of Anna and Griffin the horndog resolved. I wanna go into details but it is a spoiler alert. Kellan is captivating! He spins out of control a few times but, in the end has his moment and maybe even a little closure with family ties. I have so many quotes but I’ll be walking around singing “he could never be you”

My QUOTES: “But, if for some reason we’re not closer, if something has gotten between us, please, I’m begging you…don’t give up on me. Stay. Stay with me. Work it out with me. Just don’t leave me…please.”
― S.C. Stephens, 

“but what it all boils down to is three words that don’t mean nearly enough… I love you.”
― S.C. Stephens,

“Nothing in the world was as beautiful to me as that tattoo, except the man bearing it.”
― S.C. Stephens, 

“…”you finally get it.”…
… “get what?”…
“That I’m yours… that you can take me… anywhere, anytime, anyway. That you own every peice of me.”
― S.C. Stephens, 

“And he was the reason I felt it. His gaze, his touch, his smile, his laugh, no one had ever made me feel… worshiped… quite like he did.”
― S.C. Stephens, 

“I wanted…to own you. I wanted a part of me in you.” He cringed. “I wanted to mark you, make you mine.”
― S.C. Stephens, 

“Ethics and I had crossed paths recently, and I’m not sure that I fell on the right side of the morality line.”
― S.C. Stephens,

His smile matched mine, then I frowned and sighed “Trusting you…that’s the hard part”
― S.C. Stephens, 

“I love you more. I love you enough to let you go and live your dream.” I tilted my head and shrugged. “Don’t you see….? I love you more.”

He smiled softly and I brushed some hair off his forehead. Running the backs of my fingers down his cheek, I whispered, “And, yes, I will miss you, more than you could possibly imagine, but I know that you have to do this Kellan. And you know it too.”

Stubbornly he shook his head. “No, I know that I have to be with you. Everything else is just …. details.”
― S.C. Stephens, Effortless

“I love you more. I love you enough to let you go and live your dream.” I tilted my head and shrugged. “Don’t you see….? I love you more.”

He smiled softly and I brushed some hair off his forehead. Running the backs of my fingers down his cheek, I whispered, “And, yes, I will miss you, more than you could possibly imagine, but I know that you have to do this Kellan. And you know it too.”

Stubbornly he shook his head. “No, I know that I have to be with you. Everything else is just …. details.”
― S.C. Stephens, Effortless

“You are told from the moment you enter school that time is constant. It never changes. It is one of those set things in life that you can always rely on… much like death and taxes. There will always be sixty seconds in a minute. There will always be sixty minutes in an hour. And there will always be twenty-four hours in a day. Time was not fluctuating. It moved on at the same, constant pace at every moment in your life. And that was the biggest load of crap that I’d ever been taught in school.”
― S.C. Stephens, Effortless

“Are you about to have sex in my bathroom?”
Without missing a beat, Kellan responded with, “Yes,” and started closing the door.”
― S.C. Stephens, Effortless

“I’ll still be with you every night, Kiera. Every night, no matter where I am, crawling into bed with you. Our bed will be a lot bigger, miles wide, but it will just be you and me inside it.”
― S.C. Stephens, Effortless

“Don’t leave me,” I begged, when I found air to speak. Kellan wrapped his arms around me just as tight. Voice cracking he murmured, “I won’t…I’m yours, Kiera, for as long as you want me.” Pulling back I cupped his face. “Forever, I want you forever.”
― S.C. Stephens, Effortless